A “Housing Start” is a privately-owned home on which construction has started. It’s an important gauge of housing health because it tracks new housing stock nationwide. In December 2009, starts fell by nearly 7 percent. The news is mildly disappointing but not too bad. The likely cause for the Housing Starts drop is December’s rough [...]

Securing an FHA mortgage is about to get more expensive. In a statement issued Wednesday, the Federal Housing Authority outlined policy changes to its mortgage assistance program. The shift is meant to both reduce the government group’s portfolio risk while strengthening its overall financials. For consumers, the changes mean higher costs. As listed in the [...]

November 6, 2009, Congress voted to extend and expand the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit program.  There’s 100 days left to claim it. The expiration date of the up-to-$8,000 tax credit has been pushed forward to spring, requiring homebuyers to be under contract for a home no later than April 30, 2010, and to be closed [...]

  Data was sparse through 2010′s first trading week last week, setting the stage for a week of momentum trading. In up-and-down trading, mortgage pricing improved overall but the best rates of the week didn’t last long. Rates improved Monday and Tuesday as an oversold market corrected itself to better price points.  Then, in anticipation [...]

Just one month after touching a 3-year high, the National Association of Realtors® Pending Home Sales index plunged in November.  A “pending” home sale is a home that is under contract to sell, but has yet to close. The 16 percent drop marks the first retreat in Pending Home Sales since January of last year. [...]

2010 is just a few days old and already the “experts” are making predictions for the year. Housing calls and mortgage rate predictions run the gamut: Home prices will fall in 2010 Home prices will rise in 2010 Mortgage rates will rise in 2010 Mortgage rates will rise by a lot in 2010 Given how [...]

To be notified when I write something new, sign up for daily email alerts or subscribe to the feed. It’s not only the real estate markets that differ from town to town — the Cost of Living does, too. Insurance costs, tax bills and just plain, day-to-day living will dent a household budget differently depending [...]

Home resales are soaring. For the 4th consecutive month, the Existing Home Sales report revealed what today’s buyers and sellers already know — there’s a lot of buyer activity right now. Existing Home Sales surged 7-plus percent in November, posting its largest number of recorded sales in 33 months.  Sales volume is up 44% higher [...]

Mortgage markets improved last week as pricing followed a roller coaster-like pattern. After touching a 6-week high Tuesday, rates rallied to weekly lows Thursday, and then jumped back higher Friday. Despite the improvement last week overall, mortgage pricing remains significantly worse from the all-time lows set in late-November. Oddly, last week’s most prominent mortgage-related story [...]

To be notified when I write something new, sign up for daily email alerts or subscribe to the feed. Housing Starts jumped last month as builders got back to business.  It’s a telling sign for the economy, but bad news for next season’s sellers. With more homes coming online, home prices may be slow to [...]